Traces of disappearance, disruptions of representation: The art and public action of Cassils

ABSTRACT Over 15 years, the work of transgender performance artist Cassils has engaged with the histories and ongoing lived experiences of LGBQTI + violence and representation, as well as the double-edged sword of trans invisibility and over-representation in culture. Drawing on interviews with the artist, this article provides a survey of the artist’s work, connecting its themes of disappearance and invisibilization, traces left behind by bodies, and acts of collective refusal of the mechanisms of representation.